Entertainment

Robin Williams, the frenetic standup comedian and inimitable TV and film star whose richly dramatic side won him a supporting actor Oscar for Good Will Hunting, has died, authorities and his personal representative confirmed to Mashable. He was 63.

A preliminary Marin County coroner's release (screenshot below) said Williams apparentlly committed suicide via asphyxia at his home near San Francisco. A statement from his longtime personal publicist also indicated that the actor had taken his own life:

“Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”

Authorities arrived at Williams' home in unincorporated Tiburon, California, around noon Monday and declared him dead minutes later. A preliminary autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.

Though he enjoyed long stretches of sobriety, Williams struggled with addiction throughout his life, most recently attending rehab at the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Minnesota last month, after previously being admitted in 2006. His reps at the time said it was a precautionary measure.

"After working back-to-back projects, Robin is simply taking the opportunity to fine-tune and focus on his continued commitment, of which he remains extremely proud," a spokesperson told People Magazine at the time.

Pam Dawber and Robin Williams in Season 1 of "Mork and Mindy."

Image: ABC Photo Archive

Williams most notably battled cocaine abuse during his time on Mork and Mindy, but had apparently given it up, cold turkey, in 1982 when his wife became pregnant with their first son. He has spoken candidly through the years about his time as a heavy cocaine user, and acknowledged at the time of his 2006 rehab stint that he was an alcoholic.

Williams made his name on his singular brand of delirious, frantic and candid comedy, but he also possessed a deep gravitas that won him meaty dramatic roles — and subsequent acclaim from his "serious" acting peers. Before his Oscar for Good Will Hunting (1997), Williams was nominated for supporting turns in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society and as a troubled homeless man in the 1991 film The Fisher King.

Robin Williams introduced the "Mork" character on "Happy Days" — this photo from an episode in 1978.

Image: ABC Photo Archives

Born in Chicago and mostly raised in Michigan and California, Williams overcame crippling shyness when he joined his high-school drama club, and was later accepted at Julliard. Garry Marshall cast Williams as the quirky alien who visits Milwaukee in Happy Days, an appearance so popular that it gave birth to Mork and Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982.

From there, Williams' career was a genre-defying diffusion of talent and influence; his range as a performer and a personality simply cannot be overstated. From the late 1970s on, his standup comedy was always at the core: his three HBO comedy specials (Off The Wall in '78, An Evening with Robin Williams in '82 and Robin Williams: Live at the Met in '86) were hits, and he co-hosted the 58th Academy Awards in 1986 (with Alan Alda and Jane Fonda).

Robbin Williams appears on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1992.

Image: NBCUniversal

His many appearances on late-night television quickly turned into manic, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink monologues, complete with off-color jokes and jabs, spot-on impersonations, political tirades, sexual innuendoes — Williams left no stone unturned or hot-button issue untouched, often leaving behind a visibly flustered (but hugely entertained) Johnny Carson or David Letterman.

And then, the next minute you saw him, Williams was giving a quiet, deeply felt performance in Dead Poet's Society or Awakenings.

Though Williams’ fearsome workload never abated late in his career, he was not in production on anything at the time of his death. He did, however, have four films that were wrapped and awaiting release, including another turn as President Theodore Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (Dec. 19); the comedy Merry Friggin’ Christmas (Nov. 7); the drama Boulevard, opposite Bob Odenkirk; and a voice role as a dog in the live-action Absolutely Anything with Kate Beckinsale and Simon Pegg.

He also had a lead role in the David E. Kelly sitcom The Crazy Ones, which ran on CBS from last September until it was cancelled last spring.

His impact on popular culture was so significant that even President Obama saw fit to quickly issue a statement Monday:

Somewhere between the comedy blitzkrieg and stirring drama Williams had a dizzying succession of box-office hits, too — his everyman schtick fueled populist hits like Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook, Jumanji, The Birdcage and the Night at the Museum franchise, whose latest installment comes out this December.

Robin Williams and Matt Damon in a scene from "Good Will Hunting."

Williams was an avid gamer — he performed during Google's Consumer Electronics Show keynote in 2006 — a tireless philanthropist, a stalwart of may USO tours, a practicing Episcopalian, a road-cycling fanatic who owned dozens of bikes, and a personal friend to dozens of fellow comedians and actors, among them Steve Martin, John Belushi, Christopher Reeve, Billy Crystal and countless others.

For all of Williams’ professional success and acclaim, he had his share of personal struggles, addiction chief among them. His first marriage fell apart after an affair with a cocktail waitress went public, and he later married his son’s nanny, Marsha Garces, when she was pregnant with his second child. They divorced in 1988.

Williams also had an ugly falling out with Disney following Aladdin, which the actor agreed to do on the cheap out of gratitude for the success of the Touchstone-produced Good Morning, Vietnam. Williams only asked that the Genie character be played down in marketing and that his voice never be imitated — Disney reneged on both stipulations (they buried the hatchet in 2009).

He leaves behind three grown children: His oldest son, Zachary Pym, 31, with his first wife Valerie Velardi; and 25-year-old Zelda Rae and 22-year-old Cody Alan, with his second wife Marsha Garces. His third wife, Susan Schneider, released a statement Monday via New York Times writer Dave Itzkoff:

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